Waist belt for absorbent articles

ABSTRACT

A waist belt for supporting disposable-type absorbent articles ( 7 ), such as incontinence guards or diapers which comprise a front part, a rear part and an intermediate crotch part, wherein the belt can be fastened to the rear part of the article and when fastened to the rear part of the article comprises two front portions ( 3, 4 ) which project out laterally from mutually opposing side edges of the rear part of the article and which can be fastened together through the medium of mechanical fastener elements ( 12, 14 ) to form a waist band and which taper towards their respective ends over at least a substantial part of their lengths. Each of the front portions includes first fastener elements ( 12, 13 ) which are disposed on the outside of the belt, i.e. that side which faces outwardly in relation to the wearer&#39;s body in use, and which extend at least over essentially the whole of the tapering portions of the front portions ( 10, 11 ) along the longitudinal symmetry lines thereof. A second fastener element ( 14 ) is provided on the inside of one of the front portions at the end part thereof and can be fastened to the first fastener element on the other front portion along a plurality of mutually spaced points along the longitudinal symmetry line of the other front portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is the 35 USC 371 National Phase of International applicationPCT/SE97/00370 filed on Mar. 4, 1997, which designated the United Statesof America.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a waist belt for supportingdisposable-type absorbent articles, such as incontinence guards ordiapers which comprise a front part, a rear part and an intermediatecrotch part, wherein the belt can be fastened to the rear part of thearticle and when fastened to the rear part of the article comprises twofront portions which project out laterally from mutually opposing sideedges of the rear part of said article and which can be fastenedtogether through the medium of mechanical fastener elements to form awaist band and which taper towards their respective ends over at least asubstantial part of their lengths. The invention also relates to amethod of manufacturing such a belt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A waist belt of the type to which the invention refers is known fromApplicant's Swedish Application No. 9301631-9. The waist belt describedin this publication is relatively expensive to produce, because theloop-bearing material intended for coaction with the hook-bearing meansextends over the full extent of the outer surface of the belt, therewithresulting in high material costs.

The main object of the present invention is to reduce the cost ofmanufacturing a waist belt of this kind, so that a well-functioningdisposable waist belt can be produced at a reasonable price.

EP-A2-0,528,282 teaches a diaper in which one end of the outer casingsheets is extended laterally to form extended flaps which by forming awaist band enable the diaper to be placed on a baby with the baby in astanding position. The flaps include mechanical fastener elements whichcan be fastened to one another and to the side-portions of opposing endsof the diaper. The extended flaps, however, do not support the opposingend of the diaper, which is fastened instead to the side-portions ofthat diaper end which includes the extended flaps, in a manner whichmakes it difficult for the baby to reach the fastener points. Theproblem which the present invention intends to solve is neithermentioned nor indicated in this publication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention with awaist belt of the aforedefined kind which is characterized in that eachof the front portions includes first fastener elements which aredisposed on the outside of the belt, i.e. that side which facesoutwardly in relation to the wearer's body in use, and which extend atleast over essentially the whole of the tapering portions of the frontportions along the longitudinal symmetry lines thereof, and in that asecond fastener element is provided on the inside of one of the frontportions at the end part thereof and which can be fastened to the firstfastener element on the other front portion along a plurality ofmutually spaced points in the extension of the longitudinal symmetryline of said other front portion. Such a belt can be producedessentially with no waste, and by using separate first fastener elementsand placing said elements along the longitudinal symmetry line of thewaist belt, it is possible to use fastener elements of optimal width.Furthermore, the belt is easy to handle, by virtue of the fact that thesecond fastener element is placed at the end portion where the belt isnarrowest. This greatly reduces the risk of the first and the secondfastener elements being displaced relative to one another in thetransverse direction when putting on the belt.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first fastener elementsare spaced from the longitudinal edges of the front portion along atleast the greatest part of the length of said elements. The firstfastener elements are rectangular in shape and have a width of between20-150 mm, preferably between 30-50 mm. The first fastener elements areproduced from a loop-bearing material and the second fastener elementsfrom a hook-bearing material. The front portions are joined firmly tothe side-portions of the rear part of an absorbent article and eachinclude a rectangular part of uniform width which is attached to aside-portion of the rear part of an absorbent article, and a uniformlytapering part which projects out from the rectangular part on said frontportion and has a greatest width which is smaller than the width of therectangular part.

The invention also relates to a method of producing tapering waist-beltfront portion from a travelling web of material, characterized byplacing elongated first fastener elements on and fastening said elementsto the web in a mutually sequential row and at a given distance apartwith the longitudinal axes of said elements extending perpendicularly tothe direction of web travel; cutting the web in accordance with acutting pattern which includes mutually opposing rows of short-side cutsalong each alternate short side of the first fastener elements, saidrows being displaced relative to one another in the direction of webtravel so that the cuts relating to mutually adjacent first fastenerelements will be located along mutually opposing short sides, cuts whichextend perpendicularly to the direction of web travel and which extendfrom the centre of each short-side cut in a direction away from thefastener elements, and connecting cuts which connect the ends of saidmutually opposing short-side cuts, wherein second fastener elementsintended for coaction with the first fastener elements are fastened tothe material web in a row on the side that is opposite to the firstfastener elements and centrally opposite those end parts of the firstfastener elements that face towards one of the rows of short-side cuts,either before or after attaching the first fastener elements. The methodenables front portions intended for integration in the rear part of anincontinence guard or diaper to be produced with practically no waste.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of aninventive waist belt and a coacting incontinence guard;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of aninventive waist belt;

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate different embodiments of a waist belt frontportion;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of apparatus for producing frontportions of a waist belt of the kind illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3; and

FIG. 8 is a sectioned view of a web of material that has passed throughthe apparatus shown in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The waist belt 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is made of a flexible materialand includes a rear portion 2 and two front portions 3, 4. The rearportion 2 carries on the outside thereof two mechanical fastenerelements 5, 6 for coaction with complementary fastener elements on therear part of an incontinence guard 7. The mutually complementarymechanical fastener elements may comprise pieces of hook-bearing andloop-bearing material, such as some type of touch and close fasteners orlike fasteners. The hook fasteners are preferably mounted on theincontinence guard and the loop fasteners on the belt.

The waist-belt front portions 3, 4 include a relatively broad rear part8 and 9 respectively, which connect with the rear portions and stretchover the hips of the wearer in use. Tapering or narrowing portions 10and 11 extend from respective rearparts. Narrow, elongated andrectangular fastener elements 12 and 13 extend along the longitudinalsymmetry lines of the tapering portions 10, 11, these fastener elementspreferably comprising loop-bearing material. A fastener element 14complementary to the fastener element 12, preferably a hook-bearingfastener element, is attached to the inside of the tapering portion 11at the end part thereof. FIG. 1 shows the belt when fastened together,i.e. with the fastener element 14 in engagement with the fastenerelement 12. As will be understood,.because the element 12 extends alongsubstantially the full length of the tapering part 10, the illustratedwaist belt can be adjusted to fit around the waist of many users havingmutually different waist sizes.

The combination of waist belt 1 and incontinence guard 7 illustrated inFIG. 1 is placed on a standing user in the following way.

The rear edge part of the incontinence guard 7 is first attached to therear portion of the waist belt through the mutual coaction of fastenerelements on the incontinence guard 7 and the belt 1. In the FIG. 1embodiment, that part of the casing sheet which lies outwardly of theabsorbent body 15 is attached to the outside of the belt with the aid ofthe belt fastener elements 5, 6. Naturally, the fastener elements 5, 6may be placed on the inside of the belt and the corresponding fastenerelements of the incontinence guard on the outside of the rear-edge part,this latter alternative being suitable when those parts of the casingsheets that lie outside the absorbent body are narrower than the rearpart of the belt. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the rearpart of the incontinence guard 7 may be attached to the rear part of thewaist belt before passing or after having passed the front portions 3, 4of the belt around the user's waist and fastened said portions togetherwith the aid of the fastener elements 12, 14.

When the waist belt has been fastened around the wearer's waist and theincontinence guard has been fastened to the rear-edge part of the belt,the downwardly hanging front portion is brought forwards between thewearer's legs and then upwards so that its front edge will lie levelwith the upper edge of the waist belt, whereafter the fastener elements16, 17 on the inside of the front part of the incontinence guard arepressed into fastening abutment with the fastener elements 12, 13 on thetapering parts 10, 11 of the front portions of the belt 1.

After the front part of the incontinence guard has been fastened to thewaist belt, that part of the waist belt which is located between therespective attachment points 5, 6 and 16, 17 on the rear-edge part andfront-edge part of the incontinence guard has no actual function, sincethe front-edge parts and rear-edge parts of the incontinence guard areable to function as parts of a waist band just as well as correspondingparts of the waist belt. Consequently, the strength of the connection12, 14 need only be sufficient to hold the rear part of the incontinenceguard in place as the incontinence guard and waist belt are put on.Thus, it is only necessary to dimension the fastener elements 16, 17 toprovide an optimal strength in combination with the fastener elements12, 13. This enables the fastener element 14 to be given smallerdimensions, therewith enabling narrow fastener elements 12, 13 to beused. The length of the fastener elements 16, 17, i.e. their extensionin the longitudinal direction of the fastener elements 12, 13, may beadapted so as to obtain the requisite strength in the connections 12, 16and 13, 17 respectively. FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment which includestwo fastener elements on respective rear-edge and front-edge portions ofthe incontinence guard 7. Because the fastener elements 12, 13 on thefront portions of the waist belt extend over essentially the full lengthof the tapering portions 10, 11, it is possible to mount more than twofastener elements on the front part of the incontinence guard, saidelements being able to coact with the fastener elements 12, 13irrespective of the extent to which the belt portions 10, 11 overlap oneanother in accordance with the different waist sizes of differentwearers.

The invention thus provides a waist belt which is sufficiently broad inthe hip region to afford good comfort to the wearer, but which tapers atits front portions and therewith affords a saving in material incomparison with earlier known belts of this kind that have generallyuniform widths. In comparison with belts that are provided withloop-bearing material over the whole of their extension, the inventivebelt further saves in cost because only parts of the belt are providedwith loop-bearing material. This enables the belt to be produced from aninexpensive plastic material, such as polyethylene for instance.Furthermore, the loop-bearing material and the belt material may bechosen optimally for their respective functions, independently of eachother.

The mutually coacting fastener elements are preferably comprised ofhook-bearing material and loop-bearing material of the Velcro® fastenertype. The loop-bearing material will suitably have a width of between20-150 mm, preferably between 30-50 mm. The ends of the taperingportions of the front portions of the waist belt have essentially thesame width as the loop-bearing material. This reduces the risk of thehook-bearing element on one of the front portions being incorrectlypositioned when being fastened to a coacting fastener element on theother of said front portions. The elongated loop-bearing material willhave a length of between 200-800 mm, preferably between 300-440 mm.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a second embodiment of a waist beltintegrated in an incontinence guard 7′. The sole difference between thiswaist belt and the belt 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is that the rear part ofthe belt is comprised of the rear-edge part of the incontinence guard.Those components of the FIG. 2 embodiment which find correspondence withthe components of the FIG. 1 embodiment have been identified with thesame reference signs although with the addition of a prime. The frontportions 3′, 4′ of the waist belt are thus fastened directly to the sideedges of the rear-part of the incontinence guard, e.g. glued orultrasonically welded thereto. In other regards, the front portions ofthe waist belt shown in FIG. 2 are identical with the front portionsshown in FIG. 1 and reference is made to the description of theseportions with regard to the FIG. 2 embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates afront portion 4′ in larger scale.

In the described embodiments, the front portions of a waist belt taperat first instantaneously and thereafter continuously to the ends of saidportions. Although this configuration is preferred for manufacturingreasons of a technical nature, other configurations are conceivable.FIGS. 4-6 illustrate respectively feasible, although not preferred,configurations.

A preferred method of producing the front portions of a waist beltaccording to FIGS. 2 and 3 will now be described with reference to FIGS.7 and 8.

A web 18 of flexible material, e.g. 1 mm thick nonwoven, is unreeledfrom a storage reel R and moved through two stations A and B with theaid of conveyor means (not shown), e.g. an endless belt conveyor.Elongated, rectangular strips 19 of fastener element material are placedon the web in station A with the longitudinal axes of said stripsextending at right angles to the direction of web travel and at aspecific distance apart, said strips being fastened to the web, e.g.glued thereto. The web is cut in station B in accordance with arepetitive cutting pattern. FIG. 8 illustrates from above a section of aweb 18 that has passed through station B. As will be seen from FIG. 8,the cutting pattern includes two rows of short-side cuts S1, S2, each ofwhich extends along an alternate short side of the strips 19 at a slightdistance therefrom and on opposite sides of the strips 19. In the caseillustrated in FIG. 8, the row of short-side cuts Si extend on the leftside of the strips 19, whereas the row of short-side cuts S2 extend onthe right side of the strips. The rows of short-side cuts S1, S2 arealso displaced relative to one another, such that each strip 19 willhave a short-side cut S1 or S2 along one of its short sides. The ends ofmutually adjacent short-side cuts S1, S2 are joined together by cuts S3,S4. The cutting pattern also includes transverse cuts S5, S6 extendingfrom the centre of each short-side cut and out to the nearest long edgeof the web 18. As will be seen from FIG. 8, cutting of the web in theaforedescribed manner results in the formation of front portions 3′, 4′of the waist belt shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Rows of fastener elements complementary to the fastener element strips19 are attached in some suitable manner to the underside of the web 18centrally opposite the end-parts of those ends of the strips along whichshort-side cuts S1 extend.

The aforedescribed method thus enables the front portions of a waistbelt of the kind illustrated in FIG. 2 to be formed in a simple mannerand essentially without waste, this latter contributing to the fact thatsuch front portions can be produced relatively cheaply.

It will be understood that the aforedescribed method can be modifiedwithin the scope of the invention. For instance, the short-side cuts S1,S2 may be curved when desiring front portions with rounded ends.Further, the short-side cuts may extend longitudinally beyond the shortsides of the strips when desiring the cuts S3, S4 to be located furtheraway from the longitudinal edges of the strips 19 in those strip endparts that have short-side cuts along the short sides. The strip shortsides need not be straight, but may alternatively be curved ortriangular in shape. Such shapes are included by the term rectangularused in the claims. The invention is therefore restricted solely by thecontents of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of producing tapering front portions for a waist belt from a moving web of material, which comprises: placing elongated first fastener elements on and fastening said elements to the web in a mutually sequential row and at a given distance apart with longitudinal axis of said elements extending perpendicularly to the direction of web travel; cutting the web in accordance with a cutting pattern which includes: a) mutually opposing rows of short-side cuts along each alternate short side of the first fastener elements, said rows being displaced relative to one another in the direction of web travel such that the short-side cuts relating to mutually adjacent first fastener elements are located along mutually opposing short sides; b) transverse cuts which extend perpendicularly to the direction of web travel and from the center of each short-side cut in a direction away from the fastener elements; and c) connecting cuts which connect ends of said mutually opposing short-side cuts; fastening second fastener elements intended for coaction with the first fastener elements to the web material in a row on the side opposite to the first fastener elements and centrally opposite end parts of the first fastener elements that face towards one of the rows of short-side cuts either before or after attaching the first fastener elements. 